Vince McMahon Never Considered Shinsuke Nakamura a Main Event Player

Shinsuke Nakamura was hailed as one of the greatest stars in all of NJPW, making the IWGP Intercontinental Championship as prestigious as the Heavyweight Championship. He made his way to WWE in 2016 and fans expected greatness. Fans felt that all they got was a stellar NXT run and sheer mediocrity on the main roster. Now it appears that Vince McMahon never saw Nakamura as a top guy.

The King Of Strong Style made his main roster debut in 2017 and had all the momentum in the world. This was especially apparent after he defeated John Cena on Friday Night Smackdown.

Unfortunately, Shinsuke Nakamura was never quite booked the way he should have been. This was never more apparent than in his feud with AJ Styles over the WWE Championship, which was disappointing for many fans. Nakamura would never reach the main event scene after that.

While speaking Oh…You Didn’t Know, WWE Hall Of Famer Road Dogg talked about Shinsuke Nakamura’s run in WWE so far. Road Dogg stated that Vince McMahon gave Nakamura plenty of opportunities. Dogg then suggested that McMahon never saw Nakamura as the top guy in the past, adding that the language barrier might have come to play.

Look I think he [Vince McMahon] gave Nakamura opportunity after opportunity. I think Vince sees that you don’t have to see Nakamura perform too many times before you see what everybody else sees.

I don’t think he [Vince] was blind to that or denied him of that, and I think he gave him a bunch of opportunities. Now look I think the argument can be made that, ‘Can he, could he be a top guy?’ I think the language barrier might have gotten in the way.

I think now, what are we, five years ahead of that? And look, the world’s changed. I think he could totally be the champion.”

The King Of Strong Style returned on Friday Night Smackdown last week and defeated Madcap Moss. He is also eyeing a World Title after his return, so we’ll have to see if Nakamura will go after Roman Reigns soon.

What’s your take on what Road Dogg said? Do you think he can be a top guy? Sound off in the comments!